Pestana Grand Hotel

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We booked our holiday along with friends through Atlantic Holidays and stayed at the Pestana Grand for one week in early February 2005. This hotel is well worthy of its five star rating and is well run with good facilities and polite and friendly staff.
Preferring to eat out mostly and mix with the locals, we booked on a bed & breakfast basis and had only one evening meal in one of the three hotel restaurants. The breakfast was excellent on all days, catered for all tastes, food was plentiful, fresh and was replenished regularly, altogether an awesome start to the day. The evening meal was also very good and not too expensive being served and presented in spotless conditions with a very polite and efficient staff once again.
We were allocated room 1322 on the third floor with a sea view. The room was reasonably spacious but had a disappointingly small balcony and access to the wardrobe was awkward due to the enormous bed being so close to it. A rather silly arrangement as they could have easily moved the bed a further metre away allowing easier access. Obviously the designer’s eye preferred the aesthetic look and has given little regard for practicality and comfort. What we did like about the room was that our accompanying friends had been thoughtfully given the room next door, the two rooms were connected by doors either side which could be locked individually which enabled us to communicate easier. We understand this is not available on all rooms so you would have to ask should you want this arrangement.
Unfortunately, our one disappointment with the hotel was its location, not so much that it is on the Ponta Da Cruz peninsula with its nice sea and cliff views and very, very good walk from Funchal, but its present surroundings. On our arrival, as we were driven down to the peninsula towards the hotel there was heavy building works on all sides of the road with the accompanying vehicles, towering cranes (I counted 8 cranes within close proximity) and the multitude of workmen and the resulting noise they created. Fortunately the week we were stopping the weather was not good and resulted in the patio doors being firmly shut keeping the weather and the noise out. Had the weather been good I think we would have been asking for a transfer.
All the promotional literature we have ever seen clearly shows the hotel standing on the peninsula more or less on its own. This is certainly not the case as the photographs are either pretty old, touched up or conveniently altered to give a sanitised impression of the hotels surroundings. At the rear of the hotel (Cabo Girao side) there are multi-storey blocks of flats/apartments, shops restaurants and a supermarket amongst other things. Looking from the front of the hotel towards Funchal (with the main outdoor pool on your right) to the left is the indoor/outdoor pool and all the building work. First (I believe) there is a butterfly garden being created then the road leading down to the hotel and then all the major construction work. Anyone being allocated a room at the front of this hotel (especially near the road) will not only have a sea view but also a panoramic view of all the current construction work and at 8:00am every day except Sundays and public holidays, they will also be entertained by their own morning chorus which goes on some days until early evening.
However, in say, 18 months to two years when all the building work is completed this will in all probability be a very good place to stay but surely by then you will have to pay much more to do so.
There are many excellent places locally to eat out within five minutes walk away, including The Monumental Grill, O Barquerio Marisqueria, and a little fish Restaurant (which I have forgotten the name of) down a small cliff path (opposite the O Barquerio Marisqueria) towards Formosa overlooking the sea, which was our favourite and well worth a visit even if you don’t stop at the Grand. So if you can stand the building work this hotel is still a good place to enjoy the beautiful island of Maderia ------- if you are over 50.